The use of brackets is common practice in building construction. They are effective for supporting the weight of wood beams, such as stringers, purlins and joists. Many brackets are designed to allow for easy exchange of beams, posts, rails and the like. In addition, using brackets to attach wood beams and joists is easier and less time-consuming since they reduce the need to make mitered joints or other complex joiners at corners. For these reasons, brackets are commonly used during the initial, "framing-out" phase of building construction. The brackets of the present invention are designed primarily for post-construction use, namely for extending the height of fences or otherwise adding to existing structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,861 (Long, 1978) discloses the use of individual U-shaped horizontal rail-supporting brackets for use in the construction of fences. The Long brackets provide a means for securing fence rails to the fence posts. They comprise a single piece of metal which wraps under a fence rail, being attached to the fence post by means of nails driven through special tubes and channels formed in the brackets.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,386 (Hart, 1952) discloses a horizontal cross-bar supporting bracket for round fence posts having parallel flanges and a generally arcuate curved back portion to fit the curve of the round posts. These brackets do not extend the height of a fence.
U.S. Patent No. 841,777 (Hamilton & Gwinnup, 1907) discloses a concrete fence post to which are attached brackets for supporting horizontal fence rails. The rail brackets are metal "pockets" into which the rails are simply dropped in from the top so they can be easily removed. They do not extend the height of the fence nor are they for louvers.
Other U.S. Pat. Nos. such as 4,410,294 (Gilb et al., 1983), 4,005,942 (Gilb, 1977), 3,601,428 (Gilb, 1971) and 2,990,590 (Graveley, 1961) disclose various types of brackets used generally in building construction. The 1983 Gilb patent discloses a connector with an inclined bracket for supporting angled beams, such as rafters, to ridge beams or headers. The 1977 Gilb patent discloses a bracket which hangs down from the top of a structural member. It is attached to the top of a wood member, and hangs down over the edge to form a type of brace, or hanger, for a purlin.
The 1971 Gilb patent discloses a pronged joist hanger for a T-joint between a joist and a header employing integral prongs which protrude from the flanges. The prongs are driven into the wood for temporary holding until load support nails are driven and to provide a minor increase in the holding power of the bracket.
The 1961 Graveley patent discloses an awning rafter saddle tie comprising a metal sheet bent to form two opposing flanges forming the bracket. The brackets are attached to normally vertical walls, and rectangular rafters are fit between the flanges and attached thereto. An angled bridge portion spans between the flanges, and the rafter is rested on the edge of this bridge piece, rather than on a flat plate, so the angle of the rafter can be adjusted.
There is thus a need for louver bracket assemblies which provide an inexpensive means for extending the height of fences and for hanging from rafters to serve as sun or privacy screens.